Tamika Lawrence
# Tamika Lawrence

Tamika Sonja Lawrence is a two time Grammy winning American actress, singer, and writer.

## Early life and education

Lawrence was born on January 11 in Columbus, Ohio. She received her BFA in musical theatre from the University of Arizona.

## Career

Lawrence made her off-Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Rent as the "Seasons of Love" Soloist. Since then she has appeared in seven Broadway shows and made several television and film appearances. In 2017 Lawrence and her band, "The Slay", released their album UGLY. Lawrence won a Grammy for the Dear Evan Hansen album in 2018. Lawrence announced that her debut record, Two Faced, would be released in 2019.

For her performance as Buni in the original off-Broadway production of Black No More, Lawrence was nominated for the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical and Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical.

## Acting credits

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2011 | Rent | Mrs. Jefferson/Ensemble/Joanne (u/s) | Off-Broadway |
| 2012 | The Book of Mormon | Mrs. Brown | Broadway |
| 2013 | Matilda | Ensemble/Mrs. Wormwood (u/s)/Mrs. Phelps (u/s) | Broadway |
| 2014–2015 | If/Then | Elena/Kate (u/s) | Broadway |
| 2015 | The Tempest | Ceres | Off-Broadway |
| 2016 | Beautiful: The Carole King Musical | Shirelle/Janelle Woods | Broadway |
| 2016–present | Dear Evan Hansen | Virtual Community Voice | Broadway |
| 2017–present | Come From Away | Standby for Janice, Hannah, Bonnie, Beulah, & Diane | Broadway |
| 2018 | Gettin' the Band Back Together | Roxanne Velasco | Broadway |
| 2019 | Hercules | Calliope | Off-Broadway |
| 2021 | Caroline, or Change | Dotty Moffett | Broadway |
| 2022 | Black No More | Buni | Off-Broadway |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2016 | White Girl | Female Visitor #1 | |
| 2016 | Breakable You | Tara | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Mignon | Episode: "True Believers" |
| 2014 | Christmas in Rockefeller Center | Playback singer | TV special |
| 2014 | Idina Menzel: Holiday Wishes | Singer | iHeartRadio concert special |
| 2015 | Blue Bloods | Nina | Episode: "Home Sweet Home" |
| 2015 | Show Me a Hero | Young Mother | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | The Wiz Live! | Deputy Munchkin | TV special |
| 2016 | Vinyl | Starr | Episode: "The Racket" |
| 2018 | The Last O.G. | Dawn | Episode: "Tray-ning Day" |
| 2021–2022 | That Damn Michael Che | Recurring |

## Discography

| Year | Title | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| 2013 | Matilda (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Background vocals |
| 2014 | If/Then (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | |
| 2015 | Love the Coopers (Film Soundtrack) | Sings "O Holy Night" |
| 2017 | The Greatest Showman (Film Soundtrack) | Ensemble vocalist |
| 2017 | UGLY | With Tamika & The Slay |
| 2018 | Gettin' the Band Back Together (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | |
| 2020 | Two Faced | |
| 2021 | In the Heights (Film Soundtrack) | Vocal ensemble |
| 2021 | Needle in a Timestack (Film Soundtrack) | Sings "Won't Be Undone" |
| 2021 | Caroline, or Change (New Broadway Cast Recording) | |
